Lloyds TSB has been described as cynical in press reports about some of the methods it has used to avoid refunding unreasonable bank charges to its customers. The bank, which is alleged to be overcharging customers £300m a year, is reported to have told staff to reject first-time claims, even if they are legitimate. Details [...]
National Savings and Investments (NS&I), the Treasury backed savings provider, has launched an advertising campaign to help it locate dormant account holders. NS&I is holding over £435 million in accounts where there has been no customer contact for at least 15 years. Some of the funds were placed on deposit as far back as 1861 [...]
CIFAS, the UK’s Fraud Prevention Service, has published data showing a sharp rise in financial fraud during the first-half of 2007. During the first six months of this year, 37,357 cases of application fraud were detected. Application fraud involves submitting application forms with false information, to obtain a credit facility or insurance). The figure represents [...]
The Investment Management Association (IMA) is urging would-be savers to take a good look at what Isas are available in the market, as a number of changes will be taking place following the introduction of new government regulations, in April 2008. The economic secretary to the Treasury has announced that Isas, which are to be [...]
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has forged an agreement with a number of UK banks, including HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Royal Bank of Scotland and Nationwide, to go to court in a test case over overdraft charges. Thousands of customers have sued their banks for the return of what they consider to be unreasonable fees [...]
Moneysupermarket.com, the price comparison website, has published the results of a study that shows credit card holders preferring to pay penalty fees rather than a monthly or annual fee. Only 12% of respondents to the survey would like penalty fees to be replaced with other charges. This is surprising because in 2006, 23% of credit [...]
This is Money, the financial news website, has reported that thousands of people who have complained about unfair bank charges have been threatened with having their accounts closed. In a clear breach of industry guidelines, some of Britain’s largest banks are reported to be involved in bullying customers who are challenging the level of their [...]
The deputy governor of the Bank of England, Sir John Gieve, gave a speech earlier this week in which he warned that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) could lose its fight against inflation if it is hesitant in raising interest rates. The governor spoke of the many uncertainties ahead that had to be considered when [...]
Latest research from Investec Private Bank shows that interest rates on even some of the most attractive savings accounts have increased by less than the Bank of England base rate. The bank took the top 11 savings accounts and compared their interest rates in April 2002 with rates being offered today. Only three of the [...]
Alliance & Leicester has launched a new Visa card which is likely to be of interest to people who run their own businesses. The card is pre-paid and can therefore be used by employers to provide expenses for staff travelling in their jobs or undertaking purchases on behalf of their employer. Once it has been [...]
Two leading banks have recently launched accounts aimed at teenage customers and young people. Alliance & Leicester is offering its Premier 21 account, paying 10% interest on balances up to £1,000 until July 2008. If the balance exceeds £1,000 the interest rate reverts to just 0.1%. Premier 21 account holders are also eligible for a [...]
The Post Office is advising consumers to check with their bank or credit card provider to ascertain the level of fees charged for using their card abroad. In its research, the Post Office found that 49% of UK holidaymakers plan to use their credit cards when taking this year’s holiday and the total spend is [...]
Equifax, the credit data company, has raised concerns about opportunities being created for identity thieves by those using social networking sites. Sites such as MySpace, Bebo, Facebook and Friends Reunited are growing in popularity and those joining create profiles to share with other members. Neil Munroe, external affairs director of Equifax, has warned that fraudsters [...]
Co-operative Bank is planning to reduce staff numbers at its financial services division by 1,000, by the end of 2007. The bank, which runs Smile online, is currently Manchester’s biggest employer and Amicus, the trade union is taking a strong line in demanding that no compulsory redundancies are required in the restructure Co-operative Financial Services [...]
In its annual report the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) claims that banking services available to UK customers are cheaper than those in any other developed country. The association commissioned Oxera, the economic consultancy, to look at 11 countries and not only did the survey find that UK banking costs were lower than those of their [...]
Co-operative Financial Services (CFS) has announced plans to make around 1,000 staff redundant this year as it attempts to cut costs. No details have been released on where the redundancies will take place, but analysts expect its offices in Manchester to take the brunt of the redundancies. CFS has around 6.5 million UK customers, though [...]
